Shakespeare

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra the other evening gave a program of all Shakespeare, that is to say of orchestral pieces written to illustrate some Shakesperian theme. This interesting selection of music, ably conducted by Fritz Reiner, consisted of Korngold's Much Ado About Nothing, Wechsler's overture As You Like It, Berlioz' Queen Mab, Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream. This piquantly balanced the well known against the little known.

Music written to Shakespeare affords interesting observation. Most of it is not so good, and very few pieces rise to the remotest inkling of the grandeurs of the original. Especially is this true of the Shakesperian plays made into operas. Both librettos and music are sad mirrorings. Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, with their scholarly librettos by Boito are the only operatic compositions that ascend within sight of Shakespeare. They are not faithful to the poet in spirit--they sober down his great madness, adding to it a classical and austere elegance of form.